THERE'S still room to move in no-till systems, KIM WOODS reports

No-till grain growers have been urged not to be embarrassed about burning heavy stubbles this year.

That is the view of no-till specialist Bill Crabtree, who said good crops had created a dilemma.

"People do need to burn this year, but don't burn more than needed," Bill said.

"If they had a six tonnes/ha grain yield, leaving a 10 tonnes/ha stubble, then nothing is sacred and all things should be considered."

Bill advised growers to sow barley or rice rather than wheat into wet stubbles.

Known as "no-till Bill", he played a dominant role in the Western Australian tillage revolution.

Bill is a consultant specialising in no-tillage technologies in Western Australia.

The state boasts a 90 per cent adoption of the technique, resulting in a dramatically higher production during the drought.

Bill addressed farmers at 17 NSW regional towns this month and is about to embark on the Victorian leg.

The tour marked the launch of his book, Search for Sustainability in Dryland Agriculture.

The book outlines no-till benefits, weed control, time of sowing, tillage machinery, fertiliser systems, no-till challenges and herbicide resistance.

Bill operates a 2834ha grain farm at Morawa, 420km north of Perth.

Last year, the farm received 160mm of rain, with wheat averaging 0.7 tonnes/ha and canola 0.1-0.3 tonnes/ha.

Bill defined no-till as the use of a knife or disc machine to create 5-20 per cent top-soil disturbance.

This compared with zero tillage, which had less than 5 per cent top soil disturbance, or direct-drilling, which was one-pass seeding with a full cut.

Bill encouraged growers to shift row spacing from 17.5cm to 30cm for better weed control, using trifluralin.

But there was a yield penalty in wheat for going out to a 36cm row spacing, he said.

Bill said retaining stubble was important in a no-tillage system.

"If a three tonnes/ha stubble is burned, 88 per cent of nitrogen, 11 per cent phosphorus, 9 per cent sulphur and 76 per cent of potassium is lost," he said.

A wheat crop of three tonnes/ha produced about five tonnes/ha of stubble.

In this year's heavy stubbles, growers had the option of a cold or damp burn, or seeding between stubble rows.

"A slasher or residue manager can be used to shorten the stubble or harrowing, but it can dislodge the stubble into long pieces," Bill said.

"Cabling is effective. On a hot day, use a cable stretched between two utes to break the stubble off. I used a second-hand cable from the mines and was able to break down the stubble in a two tonnes/ha crop, going over it twice."

He said limited sheep numbers and the fact they pugged the soil ruled out grazing in no-till systems.

But for financial reasons, he encouraged mixing the two.

Bill said other options were moving to disc seeders or sowing broadleaf crops such as canola and faba beans on 45-50cm row spacings.

He said it was important to get independent data if applying microbes (environmental fertilisers) to break down stubble.

"Tillage is still one tool in the toolbox, but does damage the soil pores," he said.

"No-till creates a soil sponge with funnels in it so a big rain soaks in.

"It pushes towards building fungi and bacteria that are more tolerant of drought."

Bill said herbicide efficacy research in South Australia had tested burned, standing and slashed stubbles for ryegrass control.

Treflan had a 89 per cent control in burned stubbles, 84 per cent in standing and 29 per cent in slashed.

Dual had 67 per cent control in burned stubbles, 78 per cent in standing and 37 per cent in slashed.

Avadex was 38 per cent in burned stubbles, 52 per cent standing and 16 per cent in slashed.

Bill said summer and winter weed control would be important after the wet season.

"Consider (applying) Boxer Gold if growing wheat and the paddock is dirty (weedy)," he said.

"Rate paddocks for ryegrass infestation on a scale of one to five and act accordingly.

"Consider treflan at $4.60 a litre as it works in stubble."

Bill said stored soil moisture could be a trap in late May and producers should consider sowing barley.

"Band nitrogen at seeding, although if the soil is waterlogged, it could be lost to the atmosphere as nitrogen dioxide," he said.

"Banded nitrogen means the crop won't be deficient at the beginning."

Conservation Agriculture and No Till Farming Association chief executive Neville Gould said the no-tillage adoption rate among NSW farmers ranged from 30 to 90 per cent depending on the region, with an average of 50-60 per cent that was"growing slightly".

"Regions need to have key people to help the process. It's about building farmer confidence," he said.

"Ideally, as an organisation we don't want to see any tillage or stubble burning.

"But in reality, we aim for as minimal activity as possible.

"In saying that, we have been through tough times in the past 12 months so nothing is sacred and profitability is number one."

Neville said NSW no-tillage farmers were concerned with ryegrass control and the relationship with row spacing.

"Many people are at the narrow end of row spacing of nine to 10 inches (22.5-25cm) and could perhaps go higher rates of treflan," he said.

"We are under doing it and in NSW only recently (was registered) for treflan up to 2.8 litres/ha."

With sheep prices high, growers want more information on livestock in no-tillage systems.

They are also seeking information on disc versus tynes, and inter-row sowing.

Neville said association members had observed the potential to fix nitrogen through free-living bacteria.

"They are getting big crops without putting the nitrogen rates on that we normally would," he said. "The advantages of soil health are paramount to us, hence our desire not to burn or cultivate.

"No-till with no stubble is no good - stubble is the king."